Exclusive
France to try alleged Magnitsky Affair mastermind Dimitry Klyuev in absentia France to try alleged Magnitsky Affair mastermind Dimitry Klyuev in absentia Canada revokes dozens of crypto firms’ registrations Canada revokes dozens of crypto firms’ registrations Questions swirl around US plans for record $15B Prince Group crypto seizure Questions swirl around US plans for record $15B Prince Group crypto seizure
Crime

From Mach 0 to 6: this engine may power China’s future fighter jets and missiles

China is developing a revolutionary air-breathing engine for next-generation fighter jets and hypersonic missiles.
Designed to operate continuously from a stationary start-up to over Mach 6,…

By Samantha Johnson / March 30, 2026
Designed to operate continuously from a stationary start-up to over Mach 6, the “contra-rotary ramjet engine” could replace the combined turbine-ramjet systems currently used in high-speed flight.

After more than three decades of work, the engine prototype has been completed and experimentally verified, marking a potential step towards engineering applications.

Advertisement

The next steps involve adapting the engine to various aircraft platforms and conducting real-world flight tests, according to researchers involved in the project.

“China’s development of new-principle engines would be a strategic choice to break the Western monopoly and even surpass the West,” Xu Jianzhong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was quoted as saying in a China Science Daily report earlier this month.

Advertisement

Conventional approaches to hypersonic flight typically require two separate propulsion systems: a turbine engine for speeds below Mach 3 and a ramjet for higher speeds.

Don't Miss: